How to Deal with Unsolicited Sales Calls?

uix_expanduix_collapse

New Member

Obviously there's no "Do Not Call" list that a business can be placed on, so I'm really just looking for advice/suggestions on how to deal with the 6-10 new contacts I receive weekly (both calls and emails) from people who want to meet with me so they can discuss their "solutions to my printing/website/branding problems." We have a printer we are happy with, have JUST redone our website, and our branding is just fine, thank you very much. This is typically how I respond: "Thank you for your interest in our company. At this time we have no need for your _______ services; however I will keep your information on file in the event that we do want to explore these options in the future." Needless to say, they STILL contact me, insisting we meet so they explain what they do in person. I do NOT HAVE TIME to meet with all these people! How do I get them to STOP contacting me? If I simply ignore them, they start calling other people in the company who then forwards me their calls and emails. I can't escape them! I say I get 6-10 NEW contacts a week--that's not counting the rapidly growing number of OLD contacts that just won't take NO for an answer. I want to be polite, and I really do keep their contact info on file because sometimes I do explore options when pricing a print job, etc. But the number of phone calls and emails I get every day is absolutely ridiculous. I can't get my job done some days! Any advice that doesn't involve nuclear weapons? Thanks!

uix_expanduix_collapse

Community Leader

Community Leader

Unfortunately, there are many companies (ours included) that do very well by having a sales staff making phone calls. The reason their sales staff makes those phone calls is because that is their job. This is what they do for a living. There are lot of people, like you, who get phone calls all day long, so they automatically say no to everybody, whether or not they actually need the product/service being offered. If someone says they will "keep your information on file", we all know which file they are talking about. It is also well known in sales that it takes on average about seven calls for a prospect to actually express interest in your product or service. If a salesperson listened to everybody who said no, they would never make a sale - ever. In order to feed their families, pay their bills, etc., they have to be somewhat aggressive.
As I write this, I am on a conference call where my boss is saying there are salespeople who are "repulsive". He actually said, and I quote, "if they came face-to-face with a shark, the shark would turn away". These are the ones giving our industry a bad name. Don't do this to everybody, but if they really get too aggressive, ask to speak to their supervisor, and then make it clear you do not wish to get phone calls from them anymore. If necessary, and only if absolutely necessary, you can threaten legal action. Unfortunately, for the reasons mentioned above, you cannot eliminate the new phone calls, but you can cut down on the old ones.

uix_expanduix_collapse

Member

Obviously there's no "Do Not Call" list that a business can be placed on, so I'm really just looking for advice/suggestions on how to deal with the 6-10 new contacts I receive weekly (both calls and emails) from people who want to meet with me so they can discuss their "solutions to my printing/website/branding problems." We have a printer we are happy with, have JUST redone our website, and our branding is just fine, thank you very much. This is typically how I respond: "Thank you for your interest in our company. At this time we have no need for your _______ services; however I will keep your information on file in the event that we do want to explore these options in the future." Needless to say, they STILL contact me, insisting we meet so they explain what they do in person. I do NOT HAVE TIME to meet with all these people! How do I get them to STOP contacting me? If I simply ignore them, they start calling other people in the company who then forwards me their calls and emails. I can't escape them! I say I get 6-10 NEW contacts a week--that's not counting the rapidly growing number of OLD contacts that just won't take NO for an answer. I want to be polite, and I really do keep their contact info on file because sometimes I do explore options when pricing a print job, etc. But the number of phone calls and emails I get every day is absolutely ridiculous. I can't get my job done some days! Any advice that doesn't involve nuclear weapons? Thanks!

Click to expand...

I have taken several approaches to minimize the amount of crap calls I have to deal with.

1) I got an additional phone number from Magic Jack because it only costs $20 per year to have it. I advertise that number in places where salesman would find it. That way they call that number instead of the number I give out to customers. I have a separate number I give out to customers and never give out to anyone else. That Magic Jack number goes directly to voicemail and then emails me a .wav file of the recording so that I can review it. This step alone has drastically reduced the amount of time I waste sorting out sales calls.

2) If a salesman manages to somehow get my legit number, I will demand to be removed from their calling list immediately.

3) If I get repeated calls from the same sales company, I get rude with the salesperson (sometimes saying things I would never say under any other circumstances).

I don't like being rude or demeaning to people, but if they keep nagging me, I feel no remorse whatsoever for belittling them.

I absolutely hate inbound sales calls like that because they interrupt me when I am doing something important. It is infuriating and even rude in my opinion. I would be happy if that entire industry went away. It is an outdated model in my opinion that is abused way passed sensibility.

I especially hate the automated recorded calls and think they should be illegal.

uix_expanduix_collapse

New Member

I was once told to tell the person calling that you want to be removed from the calling list followed by saying your telephone number (###-###-####) or vice versa. I have been using that method for a while, It definitely reduces the number of unwanted calls for me.

About Us

Business Advice Forum is a very active, friendly webmaster and business forum, where members can get advice and support for their small business or website. The majority of our discussions relate to online business, with the majority of the members being webmasters.